Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Editorial: I can never play Diablo 3]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/i-can-never-play-diablo-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/i-can-never-play-diablo-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/i-can-never-play-diablo-3/#commentsThis is an editorial based on Dave Hinkle's personal experiences with 2000's Diablo 2. Joystiq's review of Diablo 3 is still forthcoming.

It's not because I lack the requisite memory blocks and quantum computers to run Blizzard's latest, Diablo 3 - it's personal. You see, I'm genetically predisposed to Diablo. It's something I think about each and every day.

Diablo is a proper addiction to me. Diablo 2 is something I associate with the darkest moments of my life, when I skipped showers and seriously lived on Pop Tarts. My only comfort back then was the dim glow of the monitor and the random piece of treasure the game would occasionally drop for me as I toiled away hours doing nightmare-level Meph runs.

I have an addictive personality, as many of those who have met me in real life can attest. I eat horribly, can't seem to quit smoking cigarettes and have drunk to excess on occasion. The Diablo experience is like some kind of magical talisman created by the wizards of southern California that is meant to poke and prod that dark place inside me I actively ignore and deny every day of my life. Diablo brings out my greed and disdain for everything other than myself in the worst way.

But again, these are just words. They don't mean anything without examples, so I'm going to take you back to when I was in college and Diablo 2 ruined my life.

Continue reading Editorial: I can never play Diablo 3

JoystiqEditorial: I can never play Diablo 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionaddictionblizzarddiablo-2diablo-3macpcWed, 16 May 2012 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Diablo 2 summons its tenth anniversary]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/29/diablo-2-summons-its-tenth-anniversary/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/29/diablo-2-summons-its-tenth-anniversary/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/29/diablo-2-summons-its-tenth-anniversary/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Grab your golems, pick up your Paladins and drag out your Druids, because Diablo 2 is now officially ten years old. Originally released on June 29, 2000 the game is still being played today on Blizzard's Battle.net. What's more, Blizzard is still updating Diablo 2, with the most recent patch having been launched in March.

Let's just hope it's not another ten years before Diablo 3 shows up.

JoystiqDiablo 2 summons its tenth anniversary originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Blizzarddiablo-2diablo-iimacpcTue, 29 Jun 2010 20:35:00 EST<![CDATA[Diablo 2, Warcraft 3 bans reach Icelandic proportions]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/21/diablo-2-warcraft-3-bans-reach-icelandic-proportions/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/21/diablo-2-warcraft-3-bans-reach-icelandic-proportions/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/21/diablo-2-warcraft-3-bans-reach-icelandic-proportions/#comments Blizzard, in preparation for the launch of StarCraft 2 and the new Battle.net framework, recently banned over 320,000 Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 players that violated the company's Terms of Use by using hacks and third-party tools. According to a census taken earlier this year, there are currently 317,630 people living in Iceland. Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that so many people play Blizzard's games, its moderators can ban more people than the entire population of the 175th largest country on the planet.

Folks from all corners of the world -- not just Icelanders -- who were found to be using illicit means of self-improvement while playing the two games had the CD key tied to the cheated game in question revoked for 30 days, while repeat offenders were banned permanently. It's not worth it, our dear readers! Keep it legit!

[Via WoW.com]

JoystiqDiablo 2, Warcraft 3 bans reach Icelandic proportions originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banbattle-netblizzardcheatdiablodiablo-2hackwarcraftwarcraft-3Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard orchestral soundtrack CD available in November]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/27/blizzard-orchestral-soundtrack-cd-available-in-november/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/27/blizzard-orchestral-soundtrack-cd-available-in-november/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/27/blizzard-orchestral-soundtrack-cd-available-in-november/#commentsFiled under:


Australian-based Eminence Symphony Orchestra is releasing a two-disc compilation of Blizzard Entertainment's best known symphonic pieces. The album, called Echoes of War, covers music from the Diablo, StarCraft and WarCraft universes -- sorry, Lost Vikings fans.

The box set, which features 90 minutes of music, will cost $30 and release in mid-November. There's also an orange Legendary Edition with an extra DVD, featuring a making-of featurette and other dross supporting material for $50. Good peons will find the CD's full track list after the break. Zug-zug.

[Thanks, Jayson; Via OSV]

Continue reading Blizzard orchestral soundtrack CD available in November

JoystiqBlizzard orchestral soundtrack CD available in November originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblizzard-entertainmentdiablodiablo-2diablo-3diablo-iiieminence-symphony-orchestraorchestrastarcraftstarcraft-2starcraft-ghostsymphonyworld-of-warcraftMon, 27 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Diablo 3 lead: Necromancer, other classes could return]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/08/diablo-3-lead-necromancer-other-classes-could-return/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/08/diablo-3-lead-necromancer-other-classes-could-return/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/08/diablo-3-lead-necromancer-other-classes-could-return/#commentsFiled under: , ,

When Diablo 3's Witch Doctor class was revealed, many of you -- at least one-fourth, by our estimates -- decried the perceived loss of the D2 Necromancer. Keep hope alive, True Believers, because D3 lead designer Jay Wilson tells MTV Multiplayer that it's still possible he'll rise from the dead.

Wilson admits that the dev team was divided on the topic of bringing back classes. "But after we've established Diablo 3 as its own game with its own type of gameplay and experiences," he said, "I wouldn't be opposed to looking at old classes ... We're looking out ahead of time at what our expansions are going to be, so we've got to keep room open for some of those other classes down the road." Wilson also said they designed the Witch Doctor so there would be room for the Necromancer. Now that we've got that settled, you can go back to complaining over the art style.

JoystiqDiablo 3 lead: Necromancer, other classes could return originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>diablodiablo-2diablo-3diablo-iiiMacnecromancerPCFri, 08 Aug 2008 01:40:00 EST<![CDATA[Former Diablo II dev speaks out on Diablo III]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/former-diablo-ii-dev-speaks-out-on-diablo-iii/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/former-diablo-ii-dev-speaks-out-on-diablo-iii/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/13/former-diablo-ii-dev-speaks-out-on-diablo-iii/#commentsFiled under: ,


The fervor has begun to die down following Diablo III's Parisian unveiling, giving former Blizzard North employee and Diablo II dev Michael Huang time enough to brave the cooling hellfire and speak out. On his mind are some Diablo III design choices that Huang says are "counter to the decisions the original Diablo team members would have made."

One thing sticking in the self-professed foodie's craw are "floating numbers" that drift above an opponent's head in the upcoming sequel to give an arithmetic angle to the carnage, a feature that was pitched by the game's current devs during the making of Diablo II but "refused" by Blizzard North. Another is the re-use of existing classes, including the Barbarian, a character Huang describes as the "most broken" class in Diablo II due to his unfair ability to leap. It's interesting to see how much negativity has been poured on the upcoming sequel given what little we've seen, though as Huang writes that he's already all but written off PC gaming as a whole anyway, we suggest he simply sit back and wait for the day that he'll be able to play the game with his thumbs.

[Via N4G]

JoystiqFormer Diablo II dev speaks out on Diablo III originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzarddiablodiablo-2diablo-3PCSun, 13 Jul 2008 22:30:00 EST<![CDATA[WWI08: Lore and art in Diablo 3 (Part 2 - Q&A)]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/wwi08-lore-and-art-in-diablo-3-part-2-qanda/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/wwi08-lore-and-art-in-diablo-3-part-2-qanda/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/30/wwi08-lore-and-art-in-diablo-3-part-2-qanda/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Q&A with Leo and Brian

Q: In the end of Diablo 2 we went to hell, killed him, smashed his Soulstone and essence of him, Bael, Maphesto ... how do we justify him coming back?
Leo: You don't know for sure that Diablo is coming back. [Ed: ... !] We don't want to divulge too much of the story, we just want to say that it will be entertaining when you come to it.

Q: In previous game you had quests to achieve to get, say the Horadric Cube. Will there be similar quests? Will we be able to get the Horadric Cube again?
Leo: The way the process works is we look into the story, look into the lore, and we want that to drive the gameplay and drive the quests. I can say there will be quests related to lore. In Diablo 2 they didn't just set out to say "let's make this great cube," it came out of the design process.

Gallery: Diablo III

Continue reading WWI08: Lore and art in Diablo 3 (Part 2 - Q&A)

JoystiqWWI08: Lore and art in Diablo 3 (Part 2 - Q&A) originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzarddiablodiablo-2diablo-3MacPCworldwide-invitationalwwiwwi08Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:59:00 EST<![CDATA[Poll: What classes would you like to see return in Diablo 3?]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/poll-what-classes-would-you-like-to-see-return-in-diablo-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/poll-what-classes-would-you-like-to-see-return-in-diablo-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/poll-what-classes-would-you-like-to-see-return-in-diablo-3/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Along with finally confirming Diablo 3's existence, Blizzard also revealed two of the five (or perhaps more) classes, the Witch Doctor and the Barbarian. Although we imagine any returning characters would see a massive overhaul from their previous renditions -- that's assuming the remaining three aren't entirely original -- we want to know who you'd like to see make it into the third game.

View Poll


Gallery: Diablo III


(Note: All classes in the game have both male and female options, hence voting D1's sorcerer is the same as voting for D2's sorceress.)

JoystiqPoll: What classes would you like to see return in Diablo 3? originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzarddiablodiablo-2diablo-3MacPCSun, 29 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New Diablo II patch lets you play without disc]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/new-diablo-ii-patch-lets-you-play-without-disc/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/new-diablo-ii-patch-lets-you-play-without-disc/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/new-diablo-ii-patch-lets-you-play-without-disc/#commentsFiled under: , ,

While the rumor mill is perpetually abuzz for Diablo III, let's go back one iteration to a game that's actually available. Blizzard has released patch 1.12 for Diablo II, which allows you to run the full game without the disc in the tray, provided you have all the required .MPQ files. According to BlizzPlanet, that either requires a full re-installation or copy-and-pasting the proper files onto the computer.

The patch also fixes some compatibility with Intel Macs and resets the online rankings. Our friends at BigDownload speculate this might be preliminary steps to putting the game on Blizzard's digital download store. Blizzard, known for patching games years after their release, updated Starcraft as recently as 2007.

[Via BigDownload]

JoystiqNew Diablo II patch lets you play without disc originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzarddiablodiablo-2diablo-iiMacpatchPCThu, 19 Jun 2008 13:30:00 EST